The subject matter of the present disclosure broadly relates to the art of pressurized gas systems and, more particularly, to pressurized gas reservoirs that include at least one exterior wall that is at least partially formed from an elastomeric material.
The subject matter of the present disclosure may find particular application and use in conjunction with components for wheeled vehicles, and will be shown and described herein with reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the subject matter of the present disclosure is also amenable to use in other applications and environments, and that the specific uses shown and described herein are merely exemplary. For example, the subject matter of the present disclosure could be used in connection with pressurized gas reservoirs of non-wheeled vehicles and/or support structures associated with industrial machinery, components thereof and/or other such equipment. Accordingly, the subject matter of the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to use associated with pressurized gas systems of wheeled vehicles.
In some cases, it has been deemed desirable to reduce the overall weight of motor vehicles, such as to improve fuel efficiency and/or to increase the transportable payload for the same gross weight of a vehicle. Reducing the weight of one or more components of the pressurized gas system of vehicles can be one contributing factor to achieving such a goal. In many cases, conventional pressurized gas reservoirs have been designed to be capable of maintaining a predetermined size and shape during use in storing a quantity of pressurized gas. As such, known pressurized gas reservoirs are often constructed from metal materials to provide desired performance characteristics, such as strength, rigidity and structural robustness of the reservoir and/or the components and/or elements thereof. Reducing the size of such known reservoirs could be useful in contributing to the reduced weight of a vehicle suspension system, such as has been described above. However, it has been recognized that such size reductions can result in undesirable reductions in contained gas volume and/or other performance characteristics.
Notwithstanding the widespread usage and overall success of conventional designs for pressurized gas system components that are known in the art, it is believed that a need exists to meet these competing goals while still retaining comparable or improved performance, ease of manufacture, ease of assembly, ease of installation, reduced cost of manufacture and/or otherwise advancing the art of pressurized gas systems.